


Over The Edge

by Spica88



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Blood Loss, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, Broken Bones, Fainting, Gen, Gunshot Wounds, Hurt, Hurt Noctis Lucis Caelum, Hurt Prompto Argentum, Hurt/Comfort, Major Character Injury, Vomiting, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-22
Updated: 2020-02-27
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:13:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 9,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22850782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spica88/pseuds/Spica88
Summary: After an ambush, a severely injured Noctis and unconcious Prompto become separated from Gladio and Ignis and struggle to reunite with them.
Comments: 9
Kudos: 122





	1. Ambush

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After an ambush from an MT dropship, Noctis and Prompto get separated from Ignis and Gladio.

The day had started off pretty normal. The four men were up with the sun. Ignis sipped coffee and made breakfast while Noctis and Prompto helped Gladio break down the tent. Gladio and Ignis had already gotten their daily workouts in, clothes changed and faces washed, while Noctis and Prompto, bleary eyed with rumpled hair and pillow marks still on their faces, stifled yawns and grumbled complaints to each other. Within an hour they were back in the Regalia headed towards Lestallum. The hunt they had completed yesterday had a large payoff, but it had left them all more than a little banged up and nearly out of supplies. Last night’s inventory showed two potions, five antidotes, three remedies and a small handful of status restoratives. They had been on the road for weeks and the state of their supply of curative items was enough to put even Prompto on edge. Today’s agenda was to make the 5 hour trip to the city where they could collect the rewards for all of the bounties they had completed and finally spend a few days recovering and rebuilding their supply inventory. The first hour of the trip was quiet and uneventful. As mentally and physically drained as they all were, their normal banter was almost non-existent but the sun was bright and warm and they had the top down so the trip definitely could have been worse and as fate would have it, worse it got when a huge magitek dropship appeared on the horizon, directly infront of them and moving very quickly.  
“Ignis, turn around!” Gladio yelled as Ignis simultaneously spun the wheel to turn the car in the opposite direction. They had been working together for the same cause for so long it was really amazing to watch. It was like they could read each other’s minds, especially when things started to get intense.  
“Damn Iggy, you should have been a trick driver instead of a professional babysitter!” Prompto teased and turned to wink at Noctis. Noctis flipped him off.  
“Shut the fuck up Prompto. He spends just as much time cleaning up after you.” Noctis said in defense.  
The conversation would have been funny under normal circumstances, but nobody was laughing. They were in serious trouble if they couldn’t outrun the dropship. As strong and skilled as they all were, taking on a horde of 15-20 MT’s without having to use any healing items was unheard of.  
Ignis surveyed their surroundings. There were rocky desert to the left and a steep drop off that led to a canyon about 20 feet off the road to the right and the drop ship was right on top of them. They weren’t going to outrun it and there was nowhere to hide off the road.  
“Everyone get ready to fight!” he said as he slammed the car to a stop. He tossed one of the potions to Gladio and the other to Noctis, the two who usually took the brunt of the physical damage in a fight. He quickly divided up the antidotes and remedies, giving everyone an antidote and keeping the 5th one and two of the remedies and giving the other one to Prompto. It was unlikely that they would need the remedies or antidotes in this fight but he wanted to give everyone the best chance at finishing the fight in one piece as possible.  
Noctis, Promto and Gladio jumped out of the car before it came to a complete stop, not even bothering to open the doors. Ignis was right behind them. Noctis and Gladio quickly took down six of the MT’s together. Ignis counted 18 total.  
“Everyone, brace yourselves!” Ignis shouted as he hurled a thunder flask into the thickest part of the horde. Noctis warped out and Gladio charged to the edge but not before the magic caught the edge of his sword, climbing up his arm and the side of his neck.  
“Shit!” Noctis heard Gladio complain from ten yards to his right. He saw him twitching, amazingly still standing but dragging his right leg as he tried to escape the rest of the thunder spell and the MT’s that it hadn’t hit. Noctis threw his sword towards Gladio and slammed into him hard enough to knock them both out of the proximity of the spell and they hit the ground hard. Gladio cracked his potion and recovered his footing quickly, reaching down to grab Noctis by the arm and haul him back to his feet. The impact had knocked the wind out of him. Warping into Gladio had been like hitting a brick wall, but he didn’t dare use his potion incase things got worse.  
“Thanks,” Noctis panted.  
“You too,” Gladio grunted back to him.  
The thunder spell had dissipated enough for Gladio to charge back into the thick of the fight. Ignis was dancing around the outside, throwing daggers and downing MT’s one at a time and impaling them with his lance when they got close enough. Noctis was able to breath again but the threat of stasis was becoming very real. His vision was getting blurry and there was a quiet ringing in his ears. He didn’t need to be warping any more if he didn’t absolutely have to. He used his lance like a pole to vault himself back into the fight, landing with the tip of his weapon straight though the helmet of one of the few remaining MT’s  
“Did you fuckin see that? You better have gotten a picture!” Noctis yelled to Prompto, thinking he was within earshot.  
When he didn’t answer, Noctis looked frantically to his right, then his left. Prompto was by the edge of the cliff that led down to the canyon, two MT’s closing in on him. He must have been out of bullets because he was brandishing his circular saw. Sweat was pouring down his face, stinging his eyes and plastering his hair to his forehead and temples. Noctis warped with his sword, unceremoniously skewering the closest MT between the shoulder blades. He looked up to check on Prompto and several things seemed to happen at the same time. He heard the dying screams of the last three MT’s that Ignis and Gladio were taking care of. Gladio yelled out for them, asking if they were ok. Before either of them could answer, the final MT kicked out at Prompto. Prompto managed to dodge the blow but it caught his circular saw, the weight of the machine causing him to spin 180 degrees, and the MT slammed the butt of his rifle right into the back of Prompto’s head, knocking him out cold sending him over the edge of the cliff.


	2. Cliff

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Noctis agrees to make his way to the beach to reunite with Ignis and Gladio, but Prompto has been knocked unconscious and will not be able to help him.

Noctis didn’t think. He didn’t think about how close he was to stasis. Didn’t think about Gladio and Ignis behind him or about the remaining Magitek Trooper. He threw his sword over the edge of the cliff after Prompto and warped. The good news was he made it to Prompto and managed to get both arms around him. The bad news was he had officially hit stasis. The warp to Prompto had taken him about 60 feet down the side of the cliff and they had about a twenty-foot fall to survive now. Time seemed to slow down. Noctis wrapped his right arm around Prompto’s neck, hoping his arm and hand would absorb some of the impact. He kept his left arm wrapped around Prompto’s waist to keep from dropping him and wriggled through the air to try to get in a better position to land in, but he really didn’t have much control over what happened now. He tucked his face into Prompto’s shoulder and braced for impact. He landed hard on his right side about ten feet from the bottom where the wall of the cliff started to slope outward. They continued sliding fast and Noctis felt his flesh tear from his hip to his armpit. He screamed into Prompto’s shoulder and tried to hold on. He managed to keep hold of him for a couple more feet, then a large rock struck him in the ribs with a sickening crack, flipping him over and tearing Prompto from his arms, flinging him like a ragdoll the last few feet to the base of the canyon. Noctis couldn’t do anything but lay there for a minute, trying his best to assess his injuries without being able to see them. He had landed on his back and was now looking up at the top of the cliff. It wasn’t long before a frantic Gladio and Ignis appeared at the edge.

  
“Noct! Are you ok?” Gladio shouted. The sound carried easily through the canyon and Noctis could hear him just fine.  
“I’m alive”, Noctis gasped out as loud as he could and was met with white hot pain that tore up his right side. He snapped his eyes shut and clenched his teeth together so hard he thought they might break, whimpering little gasps as he tried to regain his breath.  
“Noct,” Ignis ordered, calm and collected as always. “Are you hurt?”  
“Yes,” He wined.  
“Can you tell me how badly?”  
“I don’t know, pretty bad I think,” He panted and pushed himself up on his elbows. It felt like his ribs were grinding together and he could feel blood running freely down his side. He pulled his shirt up to his chest, revealing a deep and jagged gash that oozed blood with his pulse. He tried to stand up but his head spun and knocked him right back down.  
“Noct!” Ignis shouted.  
“I…I…Uh…I think my ribs are broken” he stammered, swallowing back bile. “And there’s a big cut on my side. It’s bleeding a lot. I don’t think I can stand up.”  
“You need to use the potion,” Ignis ordered  
“But…But Prompto. I don’t know if he’s ok. He’s knocked out. I don’t know how bad he’s hurt.” He had to stop after every two or three words to take short and rasping breaths.  
“Take the potion!” Gladio’s voice this time. “If he’s unconscious its not going to do him any good and you’re both going to be fucked in a few hours when the sun goes down if you can’t even walk and he’s knocked out.”

  
Noctis hesitated, but he knew they were right. He desperately wanted to get to Prompto to check him for other injuries, but he didn’t think he could even manage crawling at this point. So, he collapsed flat on his back and cracked the potion open. He knew it wouldn’t be enough to heal the injury completely, potions wouldn’t fix broken bones anyway, but it should at least keep him from bleeding out. The effects were immediate. The blood flow all but stopped and the pain of the cut subsided considerably. He laid flat on his back for another two minutes or so until the dizziness passed and tried to stand up again. He made it to his feet this time. His ribs still hurt like a bitch but he had a high pain tolerance and he managed to stagger over to Prompto’s still unconscious body. He rolled him onto his back and pressed his hand to his chest. Relief washed over him when Prompto’s body expanded with breath and his heart beat steady. Noctis pressed gently along his neck and skull with his fingertips. There was a nasty bump where the MT had smacked him with the stock of his gun, but it hadn't broken the skin. There were shallow scrapes and new bruises on his face and along his arms, but that was only to be expected. Noctis pulled Prompto’s shirt up to his arm pits and checked his chest and stomach area, then rolled him over to check his back. Some more scrapes and bruising where his shirt had ridden up during the fall but overall he appeared uninjured, just out cold.  
“He’s still out, but I think he’s ok otherwise,” Noctis yelled up to the other two and they visibly relaxed with relief. Ignis pulled out a road map which Gladio read over his shoulder.  
“Do you remember the beach we passed yesterday? It should be due north of where you are right now,” Ignis asked.  
“Yeah. I remember,” Noctis answered. Prompto had begged to stop for pictures but nobody had been in the mood and they were all anxious to get out of the car and get camp set up.  
“We’ll meet you there,” Ignis said. “You should be able to make it before dark, but if you run into trouble find somewhere to hole up and we’ll see you in the morning.”  
“Got it,” Noctis said. “Are you both ok? Is anyone hurt?” He just now thought about it. He couldn’t get the image of Prompto going over the side of the cliff out of his mind and he’d been so worried he hadn’t survived the fall.  
“Not a scratch!” Gladio answered. “Now get your scrawny ass into gear. The day isn’t getting any longer.”  
“I’m the only one aloud to give out order’s around here,” Noctis bantered back. “I’ll see you soon. Be careful!”  
“And you as well,” Ignis said, then he and Gladio disappeared from the edge of the cliff.


	3. Crawl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Noct and Prompto run into trouble making their way through the canyon. Now gravely injured, the two hole up and try to make it through the night.

Noctis couldn’t do much besides stand and stare down at Prompto for a full ten minutes. How the hell was he going to pick him up? He could manage Prompto’s weight under normal circumstances, but the thought of even bending over was enough to make him want to throw up. The potion had definitely helped but the broken ribs on his right side hurt so bad that it was hard to think straight, but they had to get going. The last thing he wanted to do was spend the night in this canyon hurt and basically alone. He squatted down and grabbed Prompto by the arms and pulled. The pain was intense and instantaneous and knocked him flat on his ass with a yelp. He wrapped his arms protectively around his ribs as if he could press them back into place.  
“Please just wake up,” He begged.

  
Prompto didn’t wake up.  
Noctis tried again. He was braced for the pain this time though and he managed to get Prompto over his shoulder, legs in front and torso pressed up against Noctis’s back. Standing up hurt so badly that he swayed and thought he was going to pass out. The dizziness passed after a minute and he thought he could manage walking. This was going to be slow work, but he was stubborn and determined to get to the beach before the sun went down. He walked for about two hours, having to stop frequently to catch his breath. He didn’t dare put Prompto down, remembering how hard it had been to stand up with him. He was beyond exhausted. Sweat ran freely down his face and neck and his side had started oozing blood again. The last few hours had been uneventful. He had been in danger of thinking he was actually going to be able to do this when the earsplitting crack of a gunshot rang through the canyon. He spun 180 degrees to face where the shot had come from. He hadn’t even registered the feeling of the bullet sinking into his back until he turned around, but he definitely felt it now. He screamed and fell to his knees, dropping Prompto flat on his back. He flung himself flat on top of him. Three more shots rang out, the bullets kicking up dirt right in front of them. He had to squint through the new pain of the bullet wound and the sweat stinging his eyes, but he finally saw the single MT about one hundred yards ahead and moving quickly toward them. He pulled Prompto’s gun from the holster at his hip and a magazine from his armiger and started firing. His hands were shaking and his vision was blurry and it missed several times before he hit his mark. The MT went down with a single headshot. Noctis didn’t see any more but he didn’t want to wait around to find out for sure. He pushed himself up onto his knees and looked around for anywhere that they could hole up for the night. The sun would be down within the hour and he now had a bullet lodged in his back. There was no way he could go any farther today. The adrenaline from the MT encounter was numbing the new pain considerably but he knew they had to move before it wore off as it would undoubtedly be crippling. He spotted a crack in the cliff that he hoped they could squeeze through. When he looked back down at Prompto he noticed blood flowing freely from a hole in his shoulder.  
“Fuck!” Noctis groaned. “You have to be fucking kidding me!”

He pulled Prompto up so he could see his shoulder from the other side. The bullet must have gone right through Prompto’s shoulder and into his back. Noctis grabbed Prompto under the arms and started dragging him towards the crack in the wall. The adrenaline was wearing off quickly and moving was getting more painful by the second. It was a tight squeeze but he managed to wriggle through the crack and pull Prompto in after him. Inside was a small cave that was actually way better than anything he’d dared hope for. The crack was inconspicuous enough from the outside and small enough that nothing bigger than man-sized would be able to get to them and the light from their lanterns would be enough to keep small daemons away. He would have felt relief if he wasn’t so badly hurt. He reached back with his hand to feel for the bullet wound. It was about half was down his back on the left side. He had no way of knowing how deep the bullet had gone in and it hurt so bad the last think he wanted to do was touch it. Knowing there was nothing he could do for himself he turned his attention to Prompto. He hated to cut his shirt off, there was no way of starting a fire in the cave and it would undoubtedly get cold tonight but he didn’t want to aggravate Prompto’s injury any more than he had to so he pulled the dagger out of his belt and cut down the middle and through both sleeves. Luckily, it looked like the bullet hand entered under his shoulder blade and exited right under his collar bone so it most likely missed his lungs and didn’t hit any bones but it was bleeding freely. Noctis cut a strip off the bottom of Prompto’s shirt then cut the rest of the shirt in half and used it to try to plug the wound then tie the strip around his shoulder to hold it in place. Noctis was happy for the first time that Prompto was unconscious. He could only imagine how it felt having the shirt stuffed deep into the bullet hole. That was really all the Noctis could do for him. Ignis had the first aid kit and Gladio had the camping supplies so this was probably as good as it was going to get. He should be hungry but he was in so much pain he felt sick and they didn’t have any food anyway so it didn’t matter. Not knowing what else to do he sat close to Prompto, hoping the proximity would help keep them both warm. He was shaking all over and his breath came in short and rapid hitches. He pulled his shirt up to find the skin around the slash that wasn’t bruised had turned an angry red which meant it was probably infected.

“Fucking perfect,” he despaired. Without much hope he pulled out his phone. Of course it was dead, and probably broken too. He reached over to pull Prompto's out of his back pocket. It came out in several pieces.

How was he going to get them back to the others now? He would probably bleed to death in his sleep, if sleep was something that would even come to him feeling the way he did. He was already cold and dizzy and having a hard time thinking straight. His stomach lurched and he closed his eyes and tried to breathe slowly through his nose. The nausea didn't pass though and he leaned over and threw up bile tinged red with blood, choking on screams as the retching caused his broken ribs to shift and the bullet hole in his back to blaze.  
_I’m going to die..._ was the last thought he had before he passed out.


	4. Eating the Elephant

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompto finally wakes up, but Noctis is in no shape to continue on. It's now Prompto's turn to take the lead and get them both to the beach before the sun goes down and they both bleed to death.

Prompto woke up to white hot agony in his shoulder and a pounding headache and screamed into his teeth. What the fuck happened and where were they? He took in his surroundings and saw Noctis slumped over next to a bloody puddle of vomit. The smell was the only thing that gave away what it was. Prompto’s heart went into his throat. _Oh my god, he’s dead…_ Prompto thought. He pressed his fingers into the side of Noctis’s neck. He was still alive but what had happened to him? His back and right side were soaked with blood and he was white as a sheet. What was he supposed to do? Why were they alone? He had to wake Noctis up. The last thing he remembered was getting ambushed by the dropship and he had no idea where they were, why they we there or what was supposed to happen next. He grabbed Noct’s thigh right above his knee and shook him. A cracked whimper escaped his mouth but he didn’t come to. Prompto shook him again, a little harder this time and blue eyes opened to slits as his face scrunched up and he cried out.

  
“I’m sorry!” Prompto whispered. “Oh my god, what happened?”  
“Awake…you…you w-woke up. F-finally. Y-you ok?” Noctis stuttered, taking tiny sharp breaths through his teeth.  
“I don’t know. I don’t remember anything since the dropship. My head is killing me and my shoulder is on fire but I’d say I’m probably in better shape than you are.”  
“You went over the cliff,” Noctis whispered back. “I warped after you…hit stasis on the way down. Have to get to the beach to Iggy and Gladio-“ He gasped and clutched at his side. His eyes were wide and panicked and he choked, struggling to breathe but his lungs wouldn’t cooperate. He cried out a cracked and wheezing sound that was probably the most awful thing Prompto had ever heard.  
“Whoa dude, calm down, it’s ok! You’re going to be ok.” Prompto grabbed Noct’s hand and talked him through the episode.  
“Prompto….you need to go without me. North. The beach we saw yes-yesterday. I c-cant go any farther. I-I’m so sorry we d-didn’t stop for pictures,” Noctis choked out.  
“Don’t be crazy, I’m not going anywhere without you. We’re going to get through this. We’re going to get back to the others and Ignis will fix you.”  
“I don’t…oh god,” he retched and blood trickled over his lips and down his chin. “I don’t think I can walk. I t-think I’m d-dying,” his voice cracked on the last word.  
“I know you can’t walk. I’ll carry you. We’ll get there. I know it hurts but you’re not going to die. I won’t let you.” Prompto said softly. He sounded confident but he had never been so terrified. Noctis looked like he was knocking at deaths door. Prompto had obviously lost a fair amount of blood from the gun shot. His shoulder was still on fire and he felt the disorienting effects of the concussion strongly. He was determined that they could get to the beach to the others but it was probably going to be one of the hardest things he’d ever had to do.

  
Noctis acted like he was about to protest again but Prompto stopped him before he could get a word out.  
“Look, I’m not leaving you. Even if I wanted to, what do you think Ignis and Gladio will say when they find out? It’s not happening. And you’re not fucking dying so just get that out of your head right now,” Prompto spoke the words firmly but he didn’t know if he believed them himself. It was true that he had no intentions of leaving Noct but he really didn’t know if he would survive the trip. He shoved the thought back before it had time to fester. They WOULD get through this.  
“Ok,” Prompto said. “Sit tight for a second. I’m going to go out and make sure the coast is clear.”  
Noctis just nodded weakly. It wasn’t like he could go anywhere if he wanted to.  
Prompto squeezed through the opening and took in the vastness of the canyon. The coast was clear for now. The sun was high and warm as it had been yesterday and he guessed it was probably around 2pm, which meant they didn’t have any more time to waste. They both needed medicine beyond what was in the first aid kit that Ignis carried and they were still hours away from the closest outpost. Prompto pulled out his compass. Noctis had told him they needed to keep going North. He found the path quickly and wriggled back through the opening in the wall.  
“Alright buddy, we have to get going,” Prompto said. “It’s already mid-afternoon. I’m going to help pull you out. You tell me if you need to stop for a minute ok?”  
This part was going to be hard but time was not a luxury they could afford so they might as well start eating the elephant right now. Prompto slid back out of the cave feet first, grabbing Noctis by the wrists and pulling him as gently as he could. Noct never told him to stop and Prompto could tell he was trying as hard as he could not to make any noise but sharp little cries still came through his teeth through the whole ordeal. By the time they both made it out of the cave Prompto was out of breath and Noctis was gasping and sweating like he’d just ran five miles as fast as he could.  
_Two minutes._ Prompto thought. _We rest for two minutes and then we keep going._  
“You doin’ ok?” Prompto crawled over and put a hand on Noctis’s back. “That was the hard part I think.” Prompto tried to be reassuring but now he was going to have to find a way to pick Noctis up, which would be more than painful for both of them, and carry him for the next god only knows how many miles, which would also be more than painful for both of them.

  
“Ok,”Prompto took a deep breath. “I’m going to get you across my shoulders. Do you think you can hang onto me while I walk?”  
“I think so,” Noctis shuddered, remembering how awful it had been getting into a standing position with Prompto’s dead weight.  
Prompto finally managed to get Noctis situated across his shoulders but the effort had caused them both to cry out loudly several times, making their voices echo off the canyon walls. All they could do was hope nothing around was hungry enough to come looking for them because they we’re both doomed if that happened. Prompto started walking, one too-slow step at a time. Noctis was trying as hard as he could to make the burden easier, but he knew how exhausting this must be. He had six to eight solid pounds of muscle on Prompto, courtesy of training six days a week with Gladio for the last twelve years. Normally that wasn’t a problem. They had all had to carry Gladio’s dead weight the length of a football field for training purposes. It had not been easy, (for Noct and Prompto anyway, as slight as Ignis was he was several years older and deceptively strong) they had all gotten through it but the circumstances were completely different. None of them had been in top form before the ambush, and now Noctis and Prompto had been bleeding for at least 24 straight hours and neither of them had had anything to eat since yesterday morning.  
After what felt like years, Prompto finally saw the blue horizon of the ocean. It was probably still a mile ahead but it was the first sign of hope they had seen.  
“Noct, look!” he said excitedly, but Noctis didn’t answer.

  
Prompto’s heart stopped and he quit walking for a second, then relaxed. He could feel Noct’s heart beating where his chest pressed against his shoulder and he could feel his body expanding with labored breaths. He must have passed out again. Prompto started staggering forward again, but the world was starting to spin. He didn’t exactly remember why they had to get to the beach. It was just a focal point that he new he needed to keep walking towards. Maybe they should keep going when they got to the water and float away. It would be so nice to not have to walk anymore and let the ocean carry them off over the edge of the world. Prompto kept stumbling forward and soon and he saw two blurry figures running towards them. They got closer and Prompto could see they were young men, probably five years or so older than him. One was big and tan, twice his width and probably eight inches taller with dark brown hair and tattoos. The other was also tall but slender with glasses and sandy brown hair. They were calling out for Noctis and Prompto but he didn’t know why. He was pretty sure he’d never seen them before and he didn’t care anyway, he just needed to get to the water so he could lay down.


	5. Unhappy Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompto and Noctis finally make it to the beach where Ignis and Gladio are waiting, but the reunion was not as sweet as what they'd hoped for.

“We need to go looking for them,” Gladio said, hanging up his phone for the thousandth time after only hearing static on the other line. “They should have been here by now.”

“Give the phone a rest, Gladio,” Ignis said in the gentlest tone he could manage. “They won’t have a signal in that canyon, even if their phones managed to survive the fall. We told Noct to find shelter if they ran into trouble and that we would wait here for them. If they haven’t made it by the end of the night, we’ll go looking for them in the morning.”

Of course, Ignis was worried to death as well, but it would be impractical to go off looking for the two younger men. What if they found the beach as soon as Ignis and Gladio left, then went off looking for _them?_ They told Noctis that this is where they would be, they needed to stay put. At least for the rest of the day.

Another hour passed and the light of the day was turning dusky. Ignis sat, going through his first aid kit over and over. He had antiseptic, gauze and waterproof tape, a small bottle of aspirin tablets that wouldn’t do much for anything worse than a headache, sutures, an assortment of scalpels, a stethoscope, sterile gloves, forceps and tweezers, a pair of scissors and some Iodine. Ignis had no idea what condition the younger two would be in when they got here, but he had a fair amount of medical training and could do a lot with this relatively simple first aid kit. It had saved many of their lives in the past when one of them had been wounded in battle. He had a photographic memory and would have made a brilliant surgeon if he had wanted to go in that direction but serving as Noctis’s royal advisor had been the only thing he’d ever wanted to do.

Gladio hadn’t sat still in hours. He paced up and down the shoreline, sometimes doing circuits of sprints, pushups and situps and sometimes just walking back and forth. He felt immense guilt over being separated from Noctis. It was his job to protect him and now he didn’t even know if he was alive.

“Fuckin’ worthless,” Gladio muttered to himself.

“Gladio,” Ignis said quietly and somehow Gladio knew exactly which direction Ignis wanted him to look in, like their minds were linked together.

They looked like a mirage with the desert canyon in the background. Prompto had Noctis slung across his shoulders in a fireman’s carry and he staggered forward, often swaying from side to side. Ignis and Gladio darted towards them. Noctis was either dead or unconscious, hanging off Prompto’s shoulders. Prompto regarded them briefly as if he’d never seen them before, then kept stumbling towards the beach.

“Prompto!” Gladio yelled when he walked past him. Prompto staggered a few more steps then face planted, sending Noctis rolling onto the sand, his limbs sprawling awkwardly around him.

“Oh god,” Ignis whispered. He didn’t know which of them to check on first.

“Go to Noct, I’ll check on Prompto,” Gladio said, once again reading his mind. Noctis was obviously in worse shape and Ignis had far more medical training than Gladio did.

Ignis fell with his knees on either side of Noctis’s head. He had landed on his belly and Ignis turned his head to the side so his face wasn’t pressed into the sand. Noctis was breathing but it was labored and shallow. Ignis turned him onto his left side, remembering that his right had been injured though it was obvious from the amount of blood on his shirt anyway. Ignis pulled out the scissors from the first aid kit and quickly cut away Noct’s blood-soaked tshirt. The shirt had been white yesterday when he had put it on, but it was now an ugly tie-dye of red, brown, black and a sickly greenish-yellow. He pressed the stethoscope to his chest. His heart beat was weak and uneven. Ignis examined Noct’s chest and stomach and they both looked unharmed aside from some faint bruising and shallow scrapes that had more than likely happened when Prompto was pulling him from the cave. Ignis rolled him back onto his stomach and immediately saw the bullet wound. It had entered between his two lowest ribs on the left side of his back. There was too much blood and dirt in an around the wound for Ignis to tell how deep in was, but it was obviously still in there.

“He’s been shot,” Ignis reported to Gladio.

“Prompto too,” said Gladio. “I found an exit wound and it looks like it missed any organs and bones but he’s bleeding badly. Looks like he has been for awhile.”

“We need to get them to the haven so we can start treating these wounds”, Ignis said

“Haven? Have you lost your damned mind? We have to get them to a hospital! What the fuck is wrong with you, Specs?” Gladio exclaimed with a horrified look.

“Gladio. Think about what you’re saying. We’re hours away from the nearest hospital and the sun will set within the hour. If we get attacked on the road, which we will, they can’t fight and we can’t leave them unprotected, even if we could survive a major attack with just two of us. Regardless, they need attention immediately, not in a couple of hours. It’s a miracle they’ve made it this long, especially Noct. You know as well as I do that a trip to Lestallum right now would be a death sentence for all of us.”

Gladio fumed at Ignis, but as he considered the words, he knew Ignis was right. There was no way Noctis would survive the trip. Prompto might, but his chances weren’t worth gambling on either. Gladio’s face softened and he gave Ignis a nod. Ignis bent down to pull Noctis into his arms.

“I’ll get him, Iggy,” Gladio said in an apologetic voice. “Prompto’s lighter and he isn’t hurt as bad so you won’t have to be as careful with him.

The last thing Ignis wanted was to let go of Noctis until he was stabilized but Gladio had a good point. Neither of the boy’s weights was much of a burden to Ignis, even though they both weighed close to what he did despite how much taller he was than both of them, but carrying Noct the 50 or so yards back to the haven he and Gladio had stayed at last night without further aggravating his injuries would be much easier for Gladio to accomplish.

“Alright then,” Ignis agreed and rushed over to Prompto and hoisted him over his shoulders. Gladio simply curled Noctis into his arms like he would have if he were cradling a child. Gladio and Ignis headed quickly for the haven and went to work immediately. Gladio started boiling water while Ignis neatly arranged his medical supplies on the table that he normally used for meal prep. They had laid Noctis and Prompto both down on top of their sleeping bags and the crude bandage that Noctis had made for Prompto’s shoulder had been removed. Gladio was fully capable of tending to Prompto. All he needed to do was cauterize both sizes of the bullet wound and hope he hadn’t already lost too much blood. Ignis would handle the daunting task of removing the bullet from Noct’s back and closing the wound, as well as setting his broken ribs and then cleaning and suturing the angry looking gash that ran the length of his right side. Ignis was most concerned about the bullet wound. If it had gone deep enough it would be lodged inside his lung, but Ignis couldn’t afford to think that far ahead because he didn’t know what he would do if that was the case. Ignis and Gladio made eye contact at the same time. They both had sterile gloves on, Gladio held a red-hot dagger and a clean towel and Ignis had forceps in one hand and a scalpel in the other.

_This is going to be a long night,_ they though simultaneously and they both knew that was what the other was thinking.


	6. Cauterizing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Out of daylight, Gladio and Ignis have to attend to Noctis and Prompto's injuries at a haven and hope they make it through the night.

When Noctis started to come to his senses, it was dark outside but there were bright spotlights shining down on him. The pain was the first thing that he noticed but it was blunted by confusion and he whined and tried to pull himself away from it. The next thing he noticed was the smell of burning flesh and someone crying out in sheer agony and fear.

“…off me! Stop…fucking kill you-“the string of profanities broke off in a strangled and tortured scream.

 _Prompto’s voice._ Noctis thought. _Who’s doing that to him? What’s happening?_

Noctis felt something cold and sharp dig into his back and the formerly dim pain hit him full force and without crescendo and he screamed, long and loud until his voice crackled and he thought he might have damaged his vocal cords. Ignis has sliced through the cartilage between Noctis's ribs with the scalpel in search of the bullet. It must be pretty deep because he still couldn't see it and Ignis was deathly afraid that it had entered his lung.

“Noct, it’s Ignis. I’m so sorry. I know it hurts but please try to keep still,” Ignis’s voice was quick and panicked. Noctis tried to push himself off his stomach to escape whatever it was that was happening to him. Ignis pushed him firmly down then straddled him, pinning him to the ground with his weight and Noctis cried out again in terror and agony. His back was on fire. His ribs felt like they were grinding together and shredding the skin and organs around them. He was shaking all over, cold and hot at the same time and he started to choke and convulse.

“Stop!” he begged. “Please stop…I c-cant-God...fuck!-“ He screamed again as he felt a new stab of torture rip through the flesh on his back as Ignis pushed the forceps down into the bullet hole. “Just let me die,” he begged more quietly this time, because that was really all he wanted. This was too much. He couldn’t take it anymore.

“Noct, tell them to stop! I don’t know who they are…they’re hurting-“a blood curdling shriek interrupted his words. Noctis rolled his head to the side to see Gladio pinning Prompto down on his stomach, his knee pressed into the middle of Prompto’s back, pressing a glowing red-hot dagger into his shoulder blade. Feral cries ripped out of Prompto’s throat as he clawed at the ground, writhing and bucking with all his strength, trying to upset Gladio’s position. _He said he didn’t know who they were…_

Noctis’s thoughts were interrupted as more pain ripped through the left side of his back, sharp and blinding and he cried out loudly, begging for Ignis to just let him die. Prompto screamed out for him to get off Noctis, that he would kill them for this, to let them both go, or they would be sorry.

 _Why doesn’t he know who they are?_ Noctis wondered in a short moment of clarity. _It must be the concussion._

Noctis reached out towards Prompto.

“Grab my hand,” he said in a voice that only reached a whisper and Prompto obeyed. “It’s Iggy and Gladio. We got sepa- “another cry from his own mouth abruptly cut his words off, but he quickly clamped his teeth together. He had to be strong. Prompto was obviously in pain too but he was also confused, angry and scared to death and Noctis had to help him calm down or Gladio could accidentally hurt him worse.

“They’re our friends,” Noctis gasped. “You hit your head…You’ll remember them soon. I p-promise. They’re trying to help us.”

Prompto had Noct’s hand in a death grip and he screamed again.

“No! They’re hurting us. Ill fucking kill them! They’re…They’re…” Prompto’s voice had gotten quieter and it trailed off. His hand relaxed and his eyes rolled back in his head.

“Shit! Shit! Ignis!” Gladio screamed and flipped Prompto onto his back and started to perform CPR. Noctis felt Prompto’s hand tear from his and he scrambled to regain his hold on him, screaming for his best friend to wake up. Gladio was frantic, rhythmically pumping his chest and blowing air into his lungs. He felt one of his ribs crack and he swore loudly. 

"Come on, kid! Come back! Wake up!," Gladio begged, now on the verge of hysterics himself as he continued the cycle of pumping his chest and breathing into him as if he could force the life back into his quiet and motionless body.

“Make sure you tilt his head back!” Ignis shouted. His voice was quick and panicked and his hands were shaking. He desperately wished he could help Prompto but he had finally located the bullet. To his horror, it has torn into Noct's lung. Luckily it hadn't gone all the way through but as soon as Ignis removed it blood spilled from the organ in torrents. “My fingers are plugging his lung; I can’t stop, or he’ll bleed out in seconds," Ignis screamed as Gladio relentlessly tried to bring Prompto back from the dead.

After the longest few minutes of his life, Gladio had finally gotten Prompto's heart weakly beating again and mercifully he stayed unconscious. Gladio continued to cauterize and bandage his wound and Ignis returned his full attention to Noctis. He had removed the bullet but now he had to suture the tear in his lung. Noctis felt the worst pain he had felt so far as the needle pierced into him. He screamed again and finally loud sobs started tearing up from his chest. Prompto wasn’t awake so he didn’t need to be strong for him anymore. He hadn’t cried in twelve years since his mom died but the pain, fear, stress and loneliness of the past two days hit him like a freight train, and he broke down, crying and whimpering without trying stifle the sounds. Eventually the pain of the needle was gone and a new and equally terrible sensation assailed him. Burning this time, with more of the burning flesh smell and the hissing sound of cooking meat. He tried to cry out, but the smell made him gag at the same time and he choked and gasped for breath. Noctis felt a new set of hands on him, turning him over onto his left side. Prompto’s hand pulled away again and this time he let it because what was the point? It wasn’t like it was doing either of them any good. At the same time he felt whatever had been burning him pull away from his skin with an awful ripping sensation and he groaned loudly.

“Prompto?” Ignis demanded. He looked like a ghost; the only color on his face was a grotesque splattering of blood.

“I’ve got the wound sealed, He’s stabilized. He might need a blood transfusion but there’s nothing else I can do for him here,” Gladio replied. 

“Good,” Ignis said quickly and let out a shaky breath. "I’ll need your help setting his ribs.”

 _Ill need your help setting his ribs._ The words echoed through Noct's mind and sank in. _Hes going to try to push my ribs back together..._

Noctis looked up at Ignis with a look of sheer panic, blue eyes wide and frantic.

“No…please Ignis no,” Noctis begged hysterically, his fingers twisting into the fabric of Ignis's shirt. “Please. I c-can’t. J-just let me- “

“I’m not going to let you die,” Ignis said in a soothing voice. “You’re going to be ok. I’m going to fix this and you’re going to be fine." Ignis didn't believe his own words but how could he convince Noctis not to give up if he had given up himself?

“No…it h-hurts. Please make it s-stop,” Noctis begged and cried out again after the last word. Ignis’s felt like his heart was fracturing into pieces listening to him cry and beg for death.

“I know. I know it hurts,” Ignis said, brushing Noctis’s sweaty hair back from his forehead. “I’m so sorry to be causing you more pain. Just a little bit more and it’ll be over. Just be strong for a little bit longer.”

Ignis met Gladio’s eyes and nodded. Gladio pulled off his leather belt and folded it over, working it passed Noct’s bloody lips and between his teeth.

“Bite down on this for me, kid,” He said in a cracked voice. “I’m sorry…” He trailed off. He didn’t know what else to say. This had been the most traumatic thing he’d ever witnessed.

“Listen closely,” Ignis instructed, still holding Noctis tightly and running his bloody fingers through his hair. He could afford him just a few moments of peace before he put him through what was likely to be the worst physical pain he would ever experience.

“He has compound fractures in his third and fourth rib. You must hold on to him tightly. Get him under his arms and around his chest. We have one shot at this. If we succeed, I should be able to line the bones back up. If he moves in the wrong direction his ribs could pierce through his lung and he’ll die within minutes.” Ignis’s words were clinical but there was panic behind them. His pupils were blown wide and his hands shook. Gladio had never seen him this visibly affected by anything.

Noctis could hear what they were saying but he didn’t care. If he died, he wouldn’t feel anything anymore, and that was really all that he wanted right now.

“Are you ready?” Ignis asked Gladio.

“Not at all. Let’s get this over with,” Gladio said bleakly.

Ignis shifted Noctis over to Gladio and he wrapped his arms around him as he’d been instructed. This was the first time he'd gotten a good look at the injury on Noctis's side and it was horrific. Muscle and sinew showed through under his tattered flesh. The bones of his ribs hadn't broken through his flesh but his side was lumpy and uneven and you didn't have to be a medical professional for it to be obvious that they were badly broken. Gladio swallowed back bile as he imagined the crippling pain he must be in. Gladio was no stranger to injuries, whether it be his own or those of his comrades, but this was by far the worst thing he'd ever seen a person live through. He screwed his eyes shut and gritted his teeth as tears threatened to spring from his eyes. Ignis placed one shaky hand on the side of Noct’s chest and the other under his right shoulder. He took an unsteady breath and started to press them towards each other. Noctis changed his mind about not caring. His eyes flew open and he bit down hard on the belt, distorting the scream that ripped its way out of his throat. He tried to break free from Gladio’s hold but he hardly moved. His fist found the fabric of the pants on Gladio’s thigh and he gripped into them so tightly that they started to tear. Gladio had his face pressed hard against the top of Noctis head and a few tears fell into his hair as he whispered to him, encouraging him that it was almost over, to try and keep still and he would be okay. Ignis pressed harder on his side and it was unbearable. Noctis arched his back and screamed again, the loudest and most anguished cry of agony so far as he felt his ribs snap audibly. He tasted blood in his mouth right before everything went black.


	7. Stitches

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gladio and Ignis continue the arduous process of suturing Noctis's wounds while Prompto sleeps off his concussion.

When Noctis woke up again the sun was just starting to peak over the horizon and he felt like he had been trampled by a pack of dualhorns and then wrestled with a sahagin and lost. It took him awhile to get his bearings but slowly he realized he was laying down on his left side with his head in Gladio’s lap. Gladio had his right arm pulled across his waist, gripping him firmly by his triceps. He felt a sharp tugging sensation at the skin just below his right armpit. It startled him and he tried to pull away with a sharp cry of protest.

“Easy there, princess,” Gladio’s voice crooned.

“Ow…it hurts-“He objected.

“I know, but you don’t want to make the scar worse, do you?” Ignis contended lightly.

“Don’t care,” Noctis said, sounding more himself than he had since he’d warped over the cliff after Prompto.

He really didn’t care. He had more scars than he could count. What was one more to add to the collection? When he was younger he’d avoided taking his shirt off, but as the years went on, his muscles filled out and though he’d never admit it to anyone he thought the combination of the scars and wiry, hard packed muscle made him look kinda badass.

Ignis continued suturing the gash on Noctis’s side quietly. He was trying his absolute hardest to be careful but the wound was jagged and uneven, requiring a base layer of sutures to realign his oblique and intercostal muscles and additional sutures to patch his skin back together. The process was long and tedious. It was painful too, though it was nothing compared to what he had suffered last night. Gladio still had his arm pulled up around his own waist, pinning it to his body with his arm and gripping Noct’s arm right above his elbow to keep the damaged flesh of his side straight and taut. Noctis was no longer hysterical but the hand attached to the arm that Gladio was holding was fisted tightly in Gladio’s shirt, his lips were bloody and pulled back from his teeth and sharp gasps slipped through them often. His eyes were screwed shut, he was white as paper and a sheen of sweat covered his forehead, sticking his shaggy hair to his face and neck. He hardly resembled the brave, stoic and self contained young man Gladio was used to. He felt him tense with effort occasionally, trying to stop the trembling that assaulted his entire body. Ignis had told him this was a reaction to a combination of adrenaline and blood loss. Ignis check Noctis’s heartbeat often, worried the intense pain and hysterics he'd gone through could potentially cause heart failure.

“Where’s Prompto?” Noctis asked after twenty minutes or so. It had been one of the first thoughts that came to his mind but this was the first time he felt like he could speak with out it turning into a full blown scream.

“He’s still asleep,” Ignis said. “Better he remains that way as long as possible. His concussion was severe, and he will likely suffer from short term memory loss for at least a few weeks.

“I should have gotten there sooner…” Noctis said as he started to cry again. Not the chest crushing sobs that ripped out of him last night but a steady, silent stream of tears.

“This is not your fault, Noct. You did everything in your power. You did more than either of us would have been able to do.” Ignis replied, indicating himself and Gladio. “If you hadn’t warped after him, he would undoubtedly be dead right now.”

“Yeah,” Gladio interjected. “And you better believe that's the ONLY reason I don’t plan on beating your skinny ass for that stunt.”

Noctis choked on a laugh, which jostled his broken ribs. He turned his face into Gladio’s side and moaned through bared teeth.

“Don’t make me laugh,” Noctis complained. “Laughing hurts.”

Everything hurt was more like it. Maybe not his earlobes or toenails but pretty much every other part of him felt shattered.

“I can’t help it,” Gladio said. “I’m the fucking king of comedy.”

“That’s enough Gladio,” Ignis chastised. “You’re supposed to be keeping him still, not making him move more. You’re ruining my handiwork.”

It took about two hours in full for Ignis to finish stitching, but he finally had the wound closed and bandaged to the point that Noctis might as well have been wearing a sleeveless shirt. The ordeal had left Noctis feeling exhausted and he lie on his bloodstained sleeping bag and let his eyes close. Ignis and Gladio quickly had the camp broken down and loaded back into the car. Gladio picked Noctis up without warning and Noctis stiffened and protested.

“You can sleep on the way to the hospital,” Gladio said, ignoring his protests and picking him up as easily as a sack of flour.

That got Noct’s attention and his eyes flew wide open. He HATED hospitals.

“What do you mean ‘hospital’”, Noctis questioned.

“I don’t know if you realize how close you both ACTUALLY came to dying last night,” Gladio said firmly.

“But-“Noctis started to argue but Ignis cut him off.

“I’ll hear no more if it. You’re going. You both need blood transfusions and MRI’s. Prompto needs a CT scan to make sure he doesn’t have permanent brain damage.”

Noctis resigned himself unhappily. If Prompto needed to go than he wouldn’t say another word about it. At least they would probably give him morphine. He was still in a world of pain even though his memories of last night were becoming cloudy. Gladio laid him down gently on the back seat of the Regalia and slid in, pulling Noctis’s head onto his lap. Ignis reclined the front seat and sat Prompto next to him while he took the wheel. The smell of the leather interior was familiar and comforting and reminded Noctis of happy times. He quickly fell into a deep and painless sleep.


End file.
